Monday, July 30, 2012

As the title says, this is the most random assortment of "celebrities" you'll find. Not sure why, but I love watching this thing. (my personal favorite is at 3:53 when we get Bud Spencer, "Spaghetti-western filmer")

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Otherwise - Soldiers
This will not be the best song you hear today. More than likely. However, it's amazingly catchy and I can't stop listening to it. It is a damn good and solid song so hopefully I'm not alone in loving it.
-And please don't judge me on how the band looks. This is the first time I'm seeing 'em too....-

Friday, July 27, 2012

Spaceman #8 - Ape people are trying to get money from a kidnapped girl's family. I think. Should probably read all at once after it ends...

Mighty Thor #17 - Dream creatures that belong in a Del Toro movie are defeated. Thor and Donald Blake are still separated. Emo, goth rockers are the world's saviors.

National Comics: Eternity #1 - Jeff Lemire reintroduces us to the New 52 version of Kid Eternity, a man who can bring the dead back for a limited time. It's pretty much what Pushing Daisies was, which is a good think. Hopefully the story can continue after this one-shot.

The Ultimates #13 - Ultimate Cap comes back and is joining the fight to take back the US of mighty A. Thor and Iron Man are happy to see him and also join. I expect Cap top be the new president of the Ultimate U after this.

Before Watchmen: Comedian #2 - Comedian goes to Vietnam and seems to enjoy killing... Well written but not much story to add to the character.

New Avengers #28 - The Red Hulk takes is upon himself to try and assassinate Phoenix Cyclops but can't. I've loved Bendis for the past 8-years on these characters but I'm ready for new blood to take over and give me something different.

Captain America #15 - Brubaker begins his end run on Cap with New World Order part 1. More villains and more people claiming that Cap doesn't know this America anymore. Promising start but nothing new.

TMNT #12 & Casey Jones #1 - The Turtles come to Splinter's aid as they fight as one in order to defeat them and save their father. Over in Casey, we get his back-story as we find out that his dying mother made him promise to let his father think he's the strong one when in fact, Casey is doing it for both. Very, very well written story with the most heart from any Turtles issue so far.

Green Lantern #11 - William Hand is back with the Black Lanterns and begins eating dinner with his dead family. As Hal and Sinestro begin reading the Book of Black for clues, only to find themselves transported to Hand's house during their meal.

Aquaman #11 - Turns out Manta is collecting the relics of the Dead King (the first ruler of Atlantis) for some evil purpose (Aquaman's triton being one of those relics). There is also a hidden, seventh relic: the scepter of the dead king, which is what sank Atlantis. And wouldn't ya know it, Manta gets it on the last page.

Uncanny X-Force #28 - After the (possible)death of Fantomex, Psylock takes control of Gateway (yes, that guy) and gets everybody out. And to the future. Which is pretty much Minority Report in that it's a future where Force per-emptively arrests people before they can actually do anything wrong. Grieving for Fantomex and want to end this future, Psylock runs herself through with her sword, leaving us with a final page of her laying in a pool of blood.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

So where do I begin with this one? I'll go with simple: this movie was amazing. Anybody who is in love with the others will absolutely love this and is you hated them, you should probably stay away.
Now let's get a little more geeky and specific.
The first of two obvious comparisons is how DKR stands against Avengers and that's a tricky answer from me. As a movie, DKR was better for me. It had a better story and better acting (taking nothing away from Avengers in either). However, as I said, if you love the others, it was almost a given that you would love this one. Avengers, on the other hand, had the surprise factor. It was looking real good and we all hoped it would match those looks but being the first movie/character ensemble it was never a definite thing. Avengers was the bigger surprise and therefore stands out just a little more. In all honesty, it's the flip of a coin for me. Either one could be better on any given day.
The second and sure to be the one I will argue most (and get the most shit for) is Bane vs Joker. I feel Ledger's Joker is one of the best portrayals in any comic movie and one of the more haunting performances in a very long time. He was that movie, plain and simple. Tom Hardy's Bane is more "complicated" like the Avengers battle. Taking nothing from his performance, Hardy was not as scary as the Joker. Nor should he have been. After Ledger's Joker, it was practically impossible for Hardy to be seen as a better villain. However, with a better made all-around movie, that's exactly what I feel happened. His voice aside (I didn't hate it at all but it still felt.... off), Bane was a better finish for the Caped Crusader. He fit the movies better, made more sense and was a threat that I felt was much harder for Batman to try and overcome. Some revelations at the end in particular helped seal the deal for me.
Overall this was a fantastic ending to a fantastic trilogy. I can't think of one thing I would change (maybe Holmes but they already changed that for me) and that is one of the best things one can say about a movie.

Daredevil #15
Daredevil has been kidnapped by the land of Latveria and they want to know how his senses are so heightened. In order to capture him and keep him, they have all sorts of drugged him to the point that his senses have left him. Here's why the issue won me completely over.
Trapped and out of hope, DD's body actually begins to further mutate. Possibly. His brain and nervous system were altered from the chemicals and without any senses, his body is forcing itself to react.
"Now that Beltane's taken my hypersenses, the trauma is triggering a decades-old response in my brain. It's compensating again. Struggling to kickstart eyes that have been dead for decades. Straining to reactivate the nerve cells in my ears."
Waid on this title has been amazing and this concept helps prove it. Now, DD was able to escape long enough to activate his Avengers card and Iron Man showed up to save him so we don't fully have much explaining. It's possible that his body is further changing for good. It's also just as possible that it was more like an surge of adrenaline and won't be lasting. Either way, bringing in the fact that he essentially has a radioactive nervous system and using it in such a different way is something I haven't read before and I've been faithful for the last almost 14 years.
With Marvel changing up a bunch of their titles and creative teams, my fingers are crossed that this is one that they won't touch. It's fresh and bright and people should be reading this title if they're not.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Released this past Wednesday may be the next big thing for Marvel. First came zombies, then came monkeys and now... Space!
Space: Punisher is a four issue mini series that is exactly what it sounds like: Punisher is a space vigilante that takes out the galactic scum of the Marvel Universe. Like zombies, this is an alternate Marvel Universe but with all the awesome Punisher killings. In this issue we have space versions of Venom (the symbiote has taken over the Brood), Barracuda and who I assume is Rhino (but it never said). Towards the end, we get these cool shots of other space versions of villains (pictured to the side) and I can't wait to see them all die, horrible, amazing, space deaths.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Who's seen this video? It's awesome. Based on the Gotye song, "Somebody That I Used to Know" and it says it all perfectly. (and you should look up the original. It's a pretty cool song and the video may be funnier that way)

Ultimate X-Men #14 - Divided We Fall: Part One
It's a little weird to me how fast I'm falling for the writing of Brian Wood on this book. The start of a title is one thing but I can't remember the last time I was getting a book where a new writer joined in partly through and it changed the dynamic this much for me.

The United States is in turmoil (see image below). Over in Ultimates, an attack has left the president dead, the White House destroyed and the Ultimates lost, trying to find any way to essentially not die. Over here in Ultimate X-Men, Sentinels rule the law in places and you can kill mutants. It's anarchy. Having left Johnny Storm in the Morlock Tunnels to protect the hiding mutants, Kitty Pryde is leading the team of her, Jimmy Hudson (son of Wolverine), Rogue and Bobby Drake across the US, looking to stop the Anti-Mutant militia that William Stryker Jr started. Kitty may have killed him but his movement continues and it's torturing and killing mutants in camps placed throughout the US. Having got through a mutant check point, Kitty is finally able to get to a phone to call and check on Johnny. Getting a lot of static, Kitty gets what appear to be some disturbing news,
"-krrsshhhh- got him, Kitty -krsshhh- took him away -krrrr- He's not even a mutant -krrssshhh-"And as if things couldn't get worse, the guys from the mutant check point have caught back up with them for a few more question. As Kitty is outside trying to find answers, gun fire begins in the dinner they stopped at. We're left with her thoughts saying that if they can find this secret person she's trying to get to join, then nobody will ever underestimate them again. "They won't even get a second chance."
I love the way the Ultimate Universe is playing out. Every is bleak and dire and I can't wait for the heroes to fully kick ass and take things back. The X-Men are gonna go camp to camp, rescuing and adding to their numbers and hopefully find the secret character Kitty wants (nut realistically, what are the odds of that happen in a comic, right?) and free everybody. The Ultimate line may not be a good place for the characters right now but it's damn good reading for us.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #1 (of 6)
While there have definitely been better issues than others with the Before Watchmen titles, this one may be towards the top. Len Wein's writing, while noting mind-blowing, fit pretty well and told a nice, cold story about Adrian Veidt's life growing up. Being bullies, losing his parents, giving away his wealth to start over. All very well told and all fitting to what we know about him. However, as anybody who has read it can attest to, the star of this comic is the dark, brilliant art of Jae Lee. I first remember taking note of his name with Marvel's Inhumans and then into Sentry but this may be some of the best of his I've seen. No more talking. More showing.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Kinda. That we know of. That they claim.
Marvel has now announced that their current Event title Avengers Vs X-Men is leading into some big changes. Primarily the launch or relaunch of many new titles. Beginning on October and going through February, each week will have at least one new launch or relaunch. As of today, only three new books have been announced:Avengers is turning into a biweekly title with Jonathan Hickman writing and Jerome Opena drawing. Hickman has been amazing on both Fantastic Four books and Ultimates (which he is currently working his way out of) and Avengers should be a great fit. Opena has made the spectacular Uncanny X-Force his own. Not being on it is a little saddening but I'm excited to see what he does for Avengers.All-New X-Men is the long rumored X-Book that Brian Michael Bendis is doing. It stars the original five X-Men, from the past as they time travel to modern Marvel and are not very happy with what they find. Bendis calls it time travel more like Pleasantville than Back to the Future.Uncanny Avengers is the one I'm most excited for and is by Rick Remender with art by John Cassaday. It's a blended book of both Avengers and X-Men and includes Captain America, Thor, Rogue and Havok. Anybody who reads my rambles knows how much love I have for Remender's writing and adding the amazing pencils of Cassaday may be too good to bare.
With only Uncanny starting in October, there should be a bit more revealed through the weeks until the full October solicitations are given. Marvel has also said that there are new costumes (as per the picture) so we can expect many complaints about those (Cyclops is the first to come to mind. And yes, that is him in the corner in all red...).
What do we think? Does anybody really care as long as the stories are well told? I'm good with whatever as long as Remender stays on Uncanny X-Force and Peter David stays on X-Factor.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Olivia Munn
Probably best known for her long running stint as co-host of G4's Attack of the Show, Ms Munn has quite the reputation of being a a nerd's nerdy lady. And after seeing Magic Mike (don't waste your time...) and finally seeing her topless, my mind has been made up. Her and Kristen Bell can now fight over who wears the Slave Leia outfit better...